High Gas Prices mean more Bike Sales and Repairs It's funny- the price of gas in Turkey is about $8-9 a gallon, yet most adults look upon a bicycle as a toy, not as an optional mode of transportation. People are more likely to buy a noise-polluting 50cc scooter than a bicycle.. and never a helmet of course..
You can miss someone whose side you left moments ago. You can miss someone who you haven't seen in a while, or for a very long time. Me. I miss my brother, sister, father, mother.. to be more specific... I miss the times when the five of us were together under one roof. laughing. sleeping. fighting. eating. whispering. shouting. I mourn the end of those days.. however painful.. or sad.. or turbulent.. I mourn the loss of that unity.. the different flight plans of our lives. It's tragic that five family members can be so polarized.. misunderstood.. separate. It's been an emotional period for me, these past few weeks. I hold it together while in the presence of friends, family, co workers.. but occasionally I fall apart like a house of cards.. I let go. I'm overwhelmed. I'm forced to stop and pause.. pull myself together.. tighten my chin strap and get back in the game.. It's not just people we miss. we miss places. time periods.. days. moments. homes and neighborhoods.. views from a window.. sounds, smells, tastes.. silent moments of solitude. lonely moments of fear. It's bittersweet. that yearning for what is over and gone. Time passes. We remember things long forgotten. suddenly. like the rush of dopamine from that first hit. then we discover that there's something more that we miss. something which has worked itself loose.. and fallen from the machine.. as it continues to slowly fall apart.
Apart from discovering this song at the end of the movie "Last Kiss", I borrowed the Coldplay disk from my brother a few months ago and never returned it. This song does indeed beg the questions: "Who do you miss?" and "Who misses you?" When you know you will lose someone and the duration of the timeline is getting compressed, songs like this will turn you inside out. Press play for me.
..since I last bothered to post something here.. and I'm really tired of seeing Little Miss Janus.. aren't you? I'm the worst blogger ever!.. until you consider that most of the blogging action these days has been over at www.bisikletcimurat.blogspot.com and www.m1racing.blogspot.com
.. but completely freaking me out.. I don't know whether to feel pity for her or for myself. Those of us who are free of such deformities- with everything in it's place- we dishonor our perfection and take so much for granted that it sickens me.Lali has a rare condition known as craniofacial duplication, where a single head has two faces.
In other news.. did you read about the two year old girl beaten to death with a game conroller clenched in the hand of a 26 year old in York, PA? His 19 year old girlfriend, mother of the two year old, couldn't be bothered to notice the painful screeching or intervene. Please lock them both up and lose the key. CNN Story
Turkish riot police detain an unidentified man who tried to attack the torch bearer as Chinese security members (in blue) secure the torch bearer during the Olympic torch relay over Galata Bridge in Istanbul April 3, 2008. The motive of the attack was not known immediately. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas
A women walks over the artwork "Ground control" by Turkish artist Achmet Ogut made of 400 square meters of bitumen during the press preview of the 5th Berlin Biennial for contemporary art in Berlin April 3, 2008. The show called 'When Things Cast No Shadow' is exhibiting international contemporary artists in four locations in the capital and will be open to the public from April 5. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
Funny song.. Long week, but it went by fast! Here we are on Friday.. and with rain threatening all week, it's a surprise that I managed to commute to work by bike every singe day (including today!) I am very happy about that. Happiness for me usually involves doing things I don't feel like doing, but which I know I must do.. Discipline. Keeping promises to myself.
All tricked out in my new bike uniforms, I feel pretty good. The whole team looks great. Looking good is a part of feeling good, no denying that.. or at least that the reverse is true.
Selling kid's bikes! We're going to grow this business if it kills us. Lots of incredible ideas and plans have been developing behind the scenes between dear wife and I. The "blogsite was updated recently, mainly to announce the arrival of new colors of the LikeaBike Jumper- red, white and blue. See for yourself. We sold a few bikes this past week and that's always great. I love it when the Crackberry goes off to announce that someone bought a bike out of our inventory from our Ebay store. Lately, with the dollar so weak, most bikes are being sold to outside of the US.. Fine and dandy. I shipped a bike to Canada yesterday.
Training program has been different this week- primarily because it was all performed outside for a change! I was apprehensive at first, because of the cold and wind, which I hate. Suffering through intervals is bad enough without fighting the cold and wind and traffic.. Plus with my newly rated Functional Threshold Power, I was worried that I was going to blow my wad and ride to failure on Tues and Thurs. Turns out I am a lot stronger than I give myself credit for. On Tuesday I trounced through my three ten minute intervals at FTP (271 with 10 min recovery in between) - actually I held back a few watts on the first two and then nailed it on the third one. Then last night a series of ten FT+10% (300w) intervals 1 min on 1 min off, followed by three more 3 min intervals at FT+5% (285w), 3 min recovery in between. This looks to be the first week in 2008 where I break 200 miles. The bike commuting helps. The pounds will now really begin to melt away! Thanks for reading.
..and I discover how many forums and websites know my date of birth.. ..Father is in the ER.. in poor condition but stable. Time to get ready.. hazirlan.. This birthday sucks balls.. I'm a hollow shell of a person. It's one of those days when you think about taking a wrong turn someplace and never looking back. Just go. Away. For a little while.
"In a videotaped 90th birthday message to fans, Clarke said he still hoped to see some sign of intelligent life beyond Earth, more work on alternatives to fossil fuels -- and "closer to home," an end to the 25-year civil war in Sri Lanka between the government and ethnic Tamil separatists."
Forgive me as my bicycle, my racing team and my training/racing become the center of the universe for a while.. One piece of good news: Remember how our furnace cracked and burned when the low water cut off failed? Well our home owner's insurance company covered the cost of the new furnace! (except for a deductible) Get Met. It pays! Other good news: Today's production meeting.. boss receives an e-mail on his Blackberry from accounting (which I am CC'ed on) Five minutes later the same e-mail arrives on my Blackberry. "Oh look, a $47,000 check came in from so and so".. Boss looks at me and says"You JUST received that e-mail??" Yuppers. And he promptly called the IT guy and ordered me up a new Blackberry. Mine is as old as dirt, a hand-me down. Everyone else has the latest shit.. So I get an upgrade.. Woo-hoo! Last bit of good news: After much nail biting and fretting and cursing.. our racing team's apparel order is finally on it's way to us from abroad (no not from a woman, from far away). I have a tracking number and everything. Scheduled to arrive Wednesday. To convey the magnitude of this investment to you, let me just say that it's nearly 5 figures out of my own pocket fronting this apparel order. Amerikan Turk is an official sponsor too.. and I can't wait to show you.. You will be able to purchase and wear the official team colors of Yours Truly if it so interest you.. Thanks for reading.
I saw the ad last night for the first time. At first I thought it was pretty stupid. Then it came on again and at the very end, the coin dropped. "Morning tongue" is the equivalent of "morning wood"- which is when a man has an erection when he wakes from sleep in the morning. This idiot in the commercial awakens with an enlarged tongue protruding from his mouth.. he goes to Burger King to get relief. Woman looks over at him as he's about to bite in to a cheesy hash brown.. tongue sticking out and all. Hilarious. Genius. When it comes out on YouTube I'll post it.
In my bizarre dreams of last night, I was part of a game of forced Russian Roulette- I was the trigger man- forced to do it by some anonymous evil person. Blew one guy's brains out.. The next one was very lucky- Five or six tries and he kept getting an empty chamber.. But I was falling apart spinning the barrel and pulling the trigger. In between heaving sobs and crying I begged for the man's life to be spared. I decided I would rather die myself than pull the trigger again. Remind you of a certain movie and a certain actor? I don't know where this one came from, but it stuck with me all day long- that feeling of ::click:: and no bullet. Hollow, but alive. The way Tyler Durden felt after letting the convenience clerk live to pursue his dream of a veterinary career. I need a vacation.
Traveling to NYC today.. I'm tired and don't feel like driving.. So for the first time ever I'm in the back seat of our minivan while Ebru has complete control of it. This is nice.. Especially sitting next to my son. Nap time. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
What I want to know is: Do all universities in Turkey have gyms and athletic centers? Are they all co-ed at all hours of the day? Are head scarves allowed at Harvard? If so, why is it okay here in the US, but not in Turkey? Who wants to go first?
